‘Marketing’ – even though we are familiar with this word, the practice of it surpasses the very definition of the word. No brand or company has perfected the art of marketing yet but there are hundreds, if not thousands of good examples of brands making the most of their marketing efforts with the help of fresh, innovative and creative campaigns.
The past years saw many good ones and a few great ones to take insights from. We have handpicked a few for your reference to get inspired for the new year. Gear up as we list them down for you.
1. Fitbit – Find Your Reason Campaign
Everyone is unique in their own way and are looking to get fit for different reasons. The brand recognised this and celebrated it with 5 short documentaries with Fitbit users hitting a health obstacle and finding their own reason to continue their fitness journey. This brilliant campaign made use of real stories of real people and helped in shifting the perceptions of many.
2. Swiggy – Voice of Hunger Campaign
Swiggy nailed it with yet another campaign called the Voice of Hunger where Instagram users were asked to share voice notes recreating the shapes of kebab, pancakes, nachos, etc. This saw many influencers take part in the campaign. The brand received over 10.5 Lakh DMs in 10 days! We think this is the most creative use of Instagram yet!
3. Facebook – Thumbstopper Campaign
This video advertising format uses short 10-second videos to tell stories that move the audience. It is all about sharing simple instances that bring the utmost joy. This helped create memorable moments and brands made it their own by sharing some heartwarming stories on their platforms. It was quick, visually-moving and created an impact on the audience.
4. McDonald’s – Instakshari
To create engagement with customers, McDonald’s took to Instagram with its ‘Instakshari’ campaign. The fun quotient was that the food was related to famous songs. For example, Is This Love meant showed the image of fires and the emotion attached to it while Kuch Kuch Hota Hai dedicated to the image of a burger. This created great interaction with the customers and they came up with interesting lines and lyrics expressing their love for McDonald’s foods. They garnered over 7 lakh impressions in just two hours! Impressive, isn’t it?
5. IKEA – Steps Campaign
IKEA’s newest store in Greenwich, is its more sustainable one yet! In order to reduce its customer’s carbon footprint to its store, IKEA put out an inspiring campaign that encourages customers to either walk or take to public transport to the store by giving them the number of steps to take or the number of the public transport. This is pure brilliance at play!
6. Twix – Making Your Dreams Come True
When we think of Twix, we instantly get reminded of the delicious chocolate bar filled with gooey caramel inside. In a bid to bring more happiness to their audience and make their dreams come true, Twix went a step further and released a new product just for them – Twix Meltdown. Twix brought in a device that churned out Twix flavoured coffee that combines an everyday loved drink with their favourite chocolate bar. This was a limited edition offer and was only available by participating in a contest through Instagram.
7. Philips – Makes Life Better Campaign
In a recent campaign, Philips pledges to ‘Make Life Better’ by portraying screaming men. In this ad campaign, it encourages men not to hide their feelings and express them as openly as possible. It is a very modern take on the face that in this era and age, men need not cling onto old macho cliches and instead sheds a positive light on the much-avoided topic.
8. Pedigree – Brings It Back Campaign
We all know that dogs bring so much happiness to us. Pedigree recognised this and motivated people to adopt dogs to get out of depression with a short animation campaign called “Brings It Back”. It features a person who is given up in life and includes toys labelled ‘love’, ‘happiness’, ‘hope’ and ‘life’ which is fetched by the dog when thrown into a distance. This is a campaign that touched many hearts.
9. Coca Cola – #Halffull Campaign
When we think of Coca Cola, we think of the iconic glass bottle. Romania was voted amongst the top 10 unhappiest countries in the world very recently. The company wanted to do something about this. It launched a campaign to bring out the positivity with the hashtag #halffull which urges people to share the other half of a positive story in their own words. The idea saw great engagement from the Romanian people.
10. Dominos – Points For Pies Campaign
Making the most of technology, Dominos launched the ‘Points for Pies’ campaign aligning with the Super Bowl. It allowed people to scan pizzas and get points no matter where it came from. This clever technique helped them garner scores of people signing up for the loyalty program. Simply superb!
11. Nike – Dream Crazy Campaign
Nike’s ‘Dream Crazy’ advert featured Colin Kaepernick, the NFL quarterback. The slogan says ‘Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything’. In the year 2016, opposing racial injustice, he started to kneel for a pre-game national anthem. He was removed from the San Francisco 49ers in 2017 and later settled a case with the league after being black labelled by the owners for his actions. The advert gave out a strong message with many notable sports personalities participating in the campaign too.
12. Pepsi – More Than Ok Campaign
The Super Bowl is not only a sporting extravaganza but also provides a platform for brands to display their most creative campaigns for a hungry audience. Every year, people wait with anticipation to see some spectacular and out of the world ads being released. As always, Pepsi didn’t hold back. The video advert starts off with a woman at a diner ordering coke while the waiter asks her: “Is Pepsi OK?”. The ad then cuts the frame and shows famous faces like Steve Carell, CardiB and Lil Jon saying Pepsi is More Than Ok, adding to the fact here that Pepsi is better than Coke. This sweet rivalry is more than just entertaining, isn’t it?
13. Gillette – The Best A Man Can Be Campaign
We are well versed with Gilette’s slogan – ‘The Best A Man Can Get’ for 30 years now. Last year, they had released an ad titled ‘We believe: the best men can be’ addressing toxic masculinity. This ad spoke against sexual harassment and bullying, engaging with the powerful #MeToo movement. This showed that men are more than what society las labelled them – wild, dominant creatures. This ad encouraged and urged men and boys to practice positive masculinity and to be kinder to one another.
14. Burger King – Silent Pick Drive Campaign
Making the most of technology, Dominos launched the ‘Points for Pies’ campaign aligning with the Super Bowl. It allowed people to scan pizzas and get points no matter where it came from. This clever technique helped them garner scores of people signing up for the loyalty program. Simply superb!
15. Spotify – Everywhere Campaign
With the boom in the usage of memes with the audience, Spotify didn’t have much choice but to dive right in and relate to the listeners. It decided to make this the centre of their campaign titled ‘Everywhere’. It uses the ‘Me, Also Me’ format to express the different emotions and moods based on listeners’ playlists. This feel good campaign got a positive reaction from all.
There are so many we could go on with but these are the top few that made the cut in our big book of the best advertisements! They are all so diverse, addressing sensitive issues in the most creative and positive ways. These stood out and succeed in creating brand awareness. Do you have any favourites you may have come across? Share with us in the comments section below. If you would like to know more about the best advertising practices, give us a call or leave a message to our experts by clicking the button below. Stay curious and stay hungry in the world of digital marketing!
